I’m going to Ft. Wayne for a couple days tomorrow and would appreciate it if somebody would suggest their top two railfan spots in Ft. Wayne for me to visit while there…thanks.
Jim
I don’t think the nkp 765 will be available on edgerton road.however if you stay on 930 into new haven (then turn 2 blocks north)then you can go by east wayne yard.At the east end of the yard is where the wabash and NKP lines come together.If you follow coleseum blvd past the old IH plant you can see what the CF&E has for power plus the old PRR tower is there.If you take coldwater road north it turns into 327 and you can visit Garrett(csx yard and crew change point).You could also stop by Elkharts NYC museum and maybe Butler Indiana too.Hope this helps.
stay safe
Joe
There is a Fort Wayne railfain website, with an overview Map here… all the hot spots are in red letters. (each is a clickable link)
I suggest you hit “NE” and “MIKE”
FOr Mike I suggest you start at the intersection of Hanna St and Wallace streets, go one block west on Wallace to Monroe St and then north on Monroe to the dead end… Walk behind the decrepit foundry building and then follow your instincts eastward.
Piqua yard is a trip too, follow Pontiac street east to where it intersects with Wayne Trace and then go left under the bridge (the former hump in the hump yard), and then once through the bridge… the former PRR control tower is to the right, and the current “Triple crown” main hub is to the left
hope this helps
Thanks for the recommendations and help guys, I appreciate it. Unfortunately I arrived in Ft. Wayne after dard tonight and was unable to do any railfanning here. I DID make a short “pit stop” in Warsaw and was able to find an old passenger station downtown. " and there seems to have been a railroad logo next to the city name but I coule not read it as it was either very faded or missing altogether. Can anybody tell me when the last intercity passenger train stopped in Warsaw, IN? (There evidently was an old interurban that had its last run in about 1951). Thanks again.
Amtrak ran the Broadway and Capital Limiteds into the early 1990’s. Not sure if they stopped at Warsaw, probably not.
Penn Central ran 4 passenger trains each way right up to Amtrak:
Westbounds:
#23 Manhatten Limited stopped 621am
#49 Broadway Limited passed 750am
#55 Pennsylvania Limited stopped 218pm
#53 stopped 704pm
Eastbounds:
#22 Manhatten Limited stopped 158pm
#48 Broadway Limited passed 700pm
#50 Admiral stopped 939pm
#54 Pennsylvania Lmt passed 130am
Circa 1978 I rode the Amtrak from Valparaiso to Fort Wayne, spending most of the trip taking photos from a Dutch Door on a delightful summer evening.
Did you happen to notice an eastbound NS intermodal on the PRR line parallelling US 30? NS exercized trackage rights today on I36, an extra intermodal from Chicago to Norfolk.
ed
Thanks for the information Ed. No, I didn’t see any traffic on the line that paralells Rt. 30 today…as a matter of fact I can’t ever recall seeing any traffic on that line but the right of way and rail looks to be in good condition. Which railroad owns that line today and how much traffice does it normally get? I may take Rt. 30 home again tomorrow or perhaps I will take Rt. 69 up to the toll road for a faster trip home.
The route is owned by CSX, who has leased it to the Chicago Fort Wayne and Eastern (CFE). CFE runs a thru train from Ft Wayne to Chicago and return about 2x weekly, usually at night. However, there is considerable activity (for a regional/shortline) on the line. There is a local based in Warsaw, which runs just about daily west to Hamlet, and as needed to Valpo. There is a big grain elevator in Hamlet that loads 65 car grain trains about 1x weekly. The power on those trains are usually CSX.
Regarding routing for your return trip. If you are starting north of Ft Wayne, the toll road routing might work, however, it is just as fast running US 30 west to Valpo (Rt 49), then north to the Indiana Toll Road and west to Chicago.
Ft Wayne to Valpo is not a bad stretch, other than the slowdown at Columbia City, Warsaw and Plymouth. I can easily make the 110 miles in 1:55 or so. I am showing 157 miles via I69/Indiana Toll Road to the Rt 49/Indiana Toll Road Jct.
Now, if you are in a wanderin kind of mood, take US 33 to Ligoneer, then up Rt 5 to US 20 and over to Elkhart to the toll road. That will give you a couple of things…tons of Amish people, places, and things in the Ligoneer/Shipshewanna/Topeka area (beware of 15mph horse and buggies) and the NS Elkhart yard. There is also the NYC museum in Elkhart.
Good luck on the travels, as we are getting snow around noon today. By tomorrow the wind will shift and we will receive lake effect snow, possibly for days.
I am in Valpo if you need anything.
ed